The Tree's Gaze
by dragondolphin1990
Summary: Zyra notices Maokai watching her. What could the Twisted Treant want with the Rise of the Thorns?


She felt his gaze for a week before she discovered who it was that had taken such an interest in her. Careful not to be caught watching him, she felt her eyes drawn to Maokai whenever his were not on her. Weeks passed like this, neither making eye contact but neither letting their gazes stray too far from the other, and during this time, she could not figure out what it was Maokai was looking for.

Zyra did not let thoughts of the Twisted Treant distract her while on the Fields of Justice, of course, but there was nothing to stop her mind from dwelling on him during her free time. Maokai was already a member of the League when she joined, so that could not be it. She did not know how long he had been animated. Perhaps she had her humanoid form longer than he. Perhaps he wanted advice on blending in with the other humans and not-quite-humans who stepped onto the Fields. The harsh bark of his face mostly kept his countenance blank. There was no way for her to read his expression to find what he wanted.

And it drove her insane.

Zyra reveled in studying the humans around her. They were so emotional and frivolous and daring and petty. They were everything plants were not. She thought that, after all this time focusing on the world around her, she had gotten adept at reading people. Maokai, however, remained a mystery, remained as unreadable as… well, as a tree.

Although Zyra loved to experience the fast-pace world of the humanoids, she still had the infinite patience of a plant. She would wait. Maokai would eventually give a hint as to why he spent so much time studying her.

And he did.

Zyra didn't expect him to be so forward about it. She knew his body was barely more animal than plant, far less animal than her own. She knew speaking somewhat difficult for him, so she was surprised when, a few months after his attention began, he sat down next to her, just outside of the Twisted Treeline, and spoke.

"They call you Zyra, yes?"

She nodded, "And you are Maokai."

For a few moments, they sat in silence, listening to the faint sounds of battle coming from the Treeline. Zyra's vines wrapped around the bench, falling just short of touching Maokai.

"It is true that you took that form willingly?"

Zyra turned to face Maokai, looking him in the eyes for the first time, wrinkling her brow in confusion, "Of course I did."

An angry rumble sounded in Maokai's chest, a strange sound that only someone as unique as him could produce, "Rise of the Thorns, they call you. You are no _rise_. You, you mark the beginning of the _fall_ of our kind."

Maokai stood and made to walk away, but one of Zyra's vines wrapped around his wrist, the thorns not even penetrating his rough skin, "You think I wanted this?"

"You said as much yourself," Maokai yanked his arm free of the thorns and stepped out of her reach but did not walk away.

"I come from the Plague Lands. Do you know what kind of place that is?" when it became clear that Maokai would not respond, Zyra continued, "There was no food. My kind was starving… dying… dead. It was just me. I could either take this form and leave or stay there to die."

Maokai slowly returned to the bench and sat down, "But… I thought…"

Zyra looked to the forest of the Twisted Treeline, "Those are your brethren, aren't they? You wish to return to them."

"I wish to have never left. This form is a curse," the unspoken words hung heavily between them.

After a few more moments of silence, as the sun began to set, Zyra, not looking at Maokai, softly said, "I know you think me a fool for treating my new body as a blessing, but please understand. To me it is."

"You are more than a fool!" Maokai exploded in rage, "You are a traitor, an abomination! I could never understand. Never!"

Zyra watched Maokai storm off, and then she watched the empty space where he disappeared into the distance. After that day, she no longer felt the heavy weight of his gaze.

She only felt an unfamiliar weight in her chest.


End file.
